


Marching On

by ATongueTiedWriter



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Army!Alicia AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2016-08-29
Packaged: 2018-08-11 18:51:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7903765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ATongueTiedWriter/pseuds/ATongueTiedWriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snapshots of Alicia's life after she joins the Army when Madison uses her college fund to put Nick through another rehab facility.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Marching On

By the time Alicia has found out there’s nothing to be done.

She stares at her mother wide eyed, mouth gaping in utter shock as Maddie tells her the money, the money that had been saved to put her through college, to get to Berkeley, _that_ money was gone.  Used on a rehab facility for Nick to make sure he gets the best care he can get, to _finally_ kick this junk once and for all and isn’t that what matters most? Getting her brother back?

Alicia just stares at Maddie, who is looking at her as if she should accept this development without question, should even be thankful for to happen. Because ‘you can go to college anytime, Leesh. This is your _brother_. This is FAMILY.’

Alicia stares at this woman who spends her days fighting for other children, guiding them to a future they think is out of reach but has no hesitation in giving away Alicia’s.

She stares at this woman who has no regret for trading the future of her second child for the maybe of her first.

She stares at this woman. At Travis lingering behind her, regret in his eyes but no spine to say what they both know. That this isn’t fair. That this is wrong.

When Alicia leaves that house, that woman, the only thing Alicia knows for certain is that is not her home.

She goes to Matt.

Of course she goes to Matt. For years he has been her constant, her anchor. No matter what happened in that house, with that woman and her prodigal son, and that spineless coward who calls himself a man, Matt has always been there to fight for Alicia.

He’s as speechless as Alicia had been when she heard the news.

‘Surely it’s a mistake.’

Because there’s no way this is real. Maddie is inattentive, and a bit cold-hearted at times, but even she couldn’t have thrown away everything Alicia had worked so hard for, for something they all knew was a waste. Even Maddie couldn’t be that heartless.

But Alicia’s face says it’s real. That it’s done and there’s no undoing it. And after all the sleepless nights he had helping her find the scholarships and perfect the essays, he knew what it meant. 

Berkeley was gone.

‘What can I do?’ he asks. ‘What do you need?’

He knows the look in her eye, the one that says she has a plan. He tries to remember everything they had discussed, every course of action they had come up with for every possibility, but can’t think of one for this. It’s the one scenario he hadn’t planned for, hadn’t thought possible. Whatever Alicia had planned was one she hadn’t shared with him.

‘I need you to drive,’ she says.

They pull up in front of the office and Matt’s heart seizes. The car idols in the parking spot as Alicia stares up at the building and Matt stares at her. He sees the moment she decides. The moment her eyes harden with the resolve he has always admired and loved her for.

He turns off the car and gets out of the car. Takes her hand as they walk through those doors, greeted by warm smiles and firm handshakes.

‘How can I help you folks today?’

Matt has not always agreed with Alicia or liked some of the things she has done, but he promised himself a long time ago that he would never become one of the people in her life to stand in her way.

So when Alicia looks the Army Recruiter in the eye and replies ‘I’d like to enlist,’ Matt pushes down his terror, his heartache, and stands unwavering by her side.

**Author's Note:**

> Another AU originally posted on my tumblr that I decided to put up here. If you have any suggestions about where to go next with this, feel free to prompt me at atonguetiedwriter.tumblr.com.


End file.
